3 DIY Face Masks

If you’ve ever wondered how to make your own DIY face masks – you’ll wanna keep reading! I’m sharing three of my favorite simple safer beauty recipes with you – a nourishing mask + brightening mask + clarifying mask.

Hi I’m Lauren – Holistic Health Coach behind Free Your Fork and I’m here to help you with healthy living without obsessing.

I help people make simple swaps for real food recipes, safer beauty, and a healthier home.

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Today we’re making DIY Face Masks! 

There’s 3 different kinds for 3 different skin needs – nourishing + brightening + clarifying. Plus suggestions for which essential oils you could add to each one for maximum skin health benefits.

I love using honey in face masks because it works as a humectant (aka it helps pull moisture into the skin). Keeping skin moisturized is key – especially as we age and our skin starts to become drier & lose it’s elasticity. Honey cleanses + moisturizes + carries gentle exfoliation properties – so it’s a pretty killer multi-tasking ingredient.

You can keep it simple by using the base recipe below (aka just use honey all on it’s own). But it’s also really fun to blend with other ingredients and create custom masks that fit your current skincare needs. As with any mask – I wouldn’t use them everyday, but 1-3x/week works great.

If you aren’t a do-it-yourself kind of person, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered with my favorite store-bought face masks, all (of course) formulated with safer ingredients. You’ll wanna scroll down to the “Healthy Living Without Obsessing” section to find those.

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If you’re into non-toxic + natural beauty – be sure to grab the free checklist below for more safer beauty swaps

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BASIC HONEY MASK RECIPE

Ingredients

• 2-3 tbs honey

Directions

• Apply honey to clean face using your fingers 
• Leave on skin for 10-20 min
• Wash off with warm water + pat dry gently with a towel
• Follow with your favorite toner + serum + moisturizer

Notes

• ANY honey works great but local, raw, or manuka honey will give you the greatest skin benefits – just make sure it is 100% pure honey and not something stretched with other ingredients
• manuka honey can be a bit on the pricey side, the higher the UMF the higher the quality – it’s a common ingredient in luxe skincare lines

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If you want to customize this basic recipe here’s 3 simple variations…

(1) NOURISHING: SPIRULINA + HONEY FACE MASK

Ingredients

• 3 tbs honey
• 1 tbs organic spirulina powder
• Optional essential oils – highly recommended to mask the strong natural scent of the spirulina
  • 12 drops total of any combination of the following: orange, geranium, frankincense, lavender, rose (I’m super into using essential oils so I do a few drops of each)

Steps

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until it creates a thick paste
• Place a thumbnail sized amount in the palm of your hand and add a few drops of water to emulsify
• Apply to clean face using your fingers
• Let dry and leave on skin for 10-20 min
• Wash off + pat dry gently
• Follow with your favorite toner + serum + moisturizer
• Store any unused mask in the fridge in a glass container for up to 1 month

Notes

• This mask is different than the other 2 because it creates a concentrate that needs to have a little water added to it before use
• Don’t add the water until you intend to use it. Products with water need preservatives so just take out what you need and add water to the palm of your hand.
• The concentrate will firm up in the fridge, just use a spoon to get it out and add warm water to it. It’ll soften right up.

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(2) BRIGHTENING: PUMPKIN + ORANGE FACE MASK

Ingredients

• 1 ½ tbs honey 
• 1 1/2 tbs pumpkin puree (the unsweetened kind that comes in a can)
• Optional = 3-5 drops of essential oils, for brightening try orange essential oil

Steps

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl
• Apply to clean face using fingers or a brush
• Let dry and leave on skin for 10-20 min (the mask will stay wet, and won’t dry like a clay mask)
• Wash off + pat dry gently
• Follow with your favorite toner + serum + moisturizer
• Store any unused mask in the fridge for up to 1 week

Notes

• If you want to use this recipe a few times a week consider doubling or tripling the recipe, make a little batch of it and use it up throughout the week as needed for a little self-care moment

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(3) CLARIFYING: BENTONITE CLAY + ACV FACE MASK

Ingredients

• 1 tbs bentonite clay
• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar (or water if you have sensitive skin)
• 1 tsp honey
• Optional = 3-5 drops of essential oils. For clarifying try rosemary, clary sage, blue tansy, copaiba, or tea tree oil

Steps

• Combine clay + liquid (ACV or water) in a small bowl
• Then stir in the honey until well combined
• Apply to clean face using fingers
• Let dry and leave on skin for 10-20 min (since it’s a clay mask you’ll feel it tighten on your skin and see it change to a lighter color, this is normal)
• Wash off + pat dry gently
• Follow with your favorite toner + serum + moisturizer

Notes

• This mask also works really well without the honey so if you’re in a time pinch just combine those two ingredients in the palm of your hand + apply directly!

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Swaps for Healthy Living Without Obsessing

If you’re not a DIY kind of person, don’t worry about it! Sometimes the wellness world can have us convinced that we can’t trust any brand or store-bought product. Or worse that we’re somehow a total failure if we don’t make everything ourselves.

Which just isn’t the case.

There’s a growing number of beauty brands using feel-good ingredients to create safer + high-performing products. Here are my favorite swaps for conventional masks that I’ve tried and loved and constantly recommend to my circle:

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Nourishing Masks

• Leahlani Skincare Mermaid Mask – nourishing + purifying in one step, like a tropical scented green smoothie for your face. This is what inspired the supergreen mask recipe! Try it here or here  
• Josh Rosebrook Cacao Antioxidant Mask – when I use this I want to eat it, the chocolatey cacao scent is rich + delicious. Find it here or here  

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Brightening Masks

• Beautycounter Overnight Resurfacing Peel – this calls itself a “peel” but I think of it more like an overnight treatment because I sleep with it on. I use this a few nights a week and wake up with more glowy skin. Obsessed. Grab yours here
• Maya Chia The Refresh Mint – a green beauty cult favorite for a reason. Brightens and moisturizes in one step. Goes on basically clear so you can wear it + answer the door on the weekend without looking like a total swamp monster? Yep. Love it. Get it here or here   

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Clarifying Masks

• Beautycounter Counter+ Charcoal Face Mask – great as an all-over mask or to apply just where you need it. I use purifying mask on my t-zone a few times a month. Grab the mask here
• Evan Healy Green Tea Clay Mask – been using this for years, it’s super gentle and lasts forever. The rose clay mask is a winner too. I get mine at Whole Foods but you can find it here on Amazon too. 

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